Operation Homefront Southeast gave more than 250 military kids free backpacks full of school supplies at a Back-to-School Brigade event Thursday.

Operation Homefront Southeast gave more than 250 military kids free backpacks full of school supplies at a Back-to-School Brigade event Thursday at Pensacola Naval Air Station's Lighthouse Community Center.

Twenty Operation Homefront volunteers passed out new backpacks and school supplies — all donated — with an estimated value of nearly $10,000.

"We're here to lend a hand to military families who deal not only with deployments and the other stresses of military life, but also the economic difficulties shared by all Americans," said Simone Hoover, Executive Director of Operation Homefront's Southeast Field Office. "Getting children ready to go back to school can be a costly venture, but these donated school supplies help ease the burden military families carry."

The school supplies were donated by Pensacola area residents and collected at local Dollar Tree stores as part of Operation Homefront's nationwide Back-to-School Brigade program.

Operation Homefront, a nonprofit organization, provides services to military families across the nation with 23 locations serving 43 states and serves the lowest-paid service members, the E-1 through E-6 enlisted ranks.